Links That Think 3-31-17

Woooo-weee! Is March legit over? I cannot even fathom that. This week I’ve been teaching about symbolism. I love talking about how concrete objects connect to abstract ideas, and how symbolic life is. Basically, I love all the ways teaching Reading and English fosters my hippie side and makes my students (hopefully) see life a little differently. Talking about time and how it’s truly an abstract concept made me want to run to my storage closet and cry into a box of dusty textbooks. Where is it all going? Wasn’t it just a week or so ago that I was holding a little baby? And now she’s bossing me around and crying about all of the randomness of life she doesn’t understand?

I don’t recall ever considering spring before Novella. Now, all the blooms and blossoms remind me of her: waiting for her; her swimming and dancing in my belly every time I played my Easter jam or ate strawberries; nestling and cuddling in our sunroom with the greenery as our backdrop. Spring is bittersweet- mostly sweet, though.

When I haven’t been salvaging every second, here are some links that made me think this week:

The Adele AnomalyAs I read this, it reminded me of myself in high school. Look, I’m not saying my singing talent is Adele Calibur, but I never even tried to do anything beyond high school. You know why? Because I can’t dance. And I’m pretty, but not that pretty. Adele has singlehandedly changed the pigeon-holing of successful female musicians. She wants to write and make music- that’s it.

What If We Taught Argument in EVERY Class?Annnnd, what if adults went ahead and signed up at a learning annex? I love thinking about learning and how to improve the thinking of students. How many times do students just spew out an opinion without any evidence? We say “evidence” all the time, but what does that really mean? We should teach them in all of their classes to argue. If they can argue for it, they know it.

S-TownI don’t even care how bandwagon I am right now. If you’re not listening to this, you’re missing out. This is produced by Serial Productions that made Serial. I think it started off in search of a similar story/ concept. It took a wild turn. I don’t want to even slightly give anything away, but this story is wildly unpredictable. You will laugh, cringe, and bawl. And all within a few minutes.

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Mommy Dearest’s Lessons in Overly Dramatic ParentingI’ve never seen it and probably never will. It’s one of those wildly iconic movies that you can easily quote despite never watching it. This felt so much like Mystery Science Theatre in print, and hence it made me laugh.

I am looking forward to a weekend with family and friends. Novella and I are currently at my parents’ cabin. I’m driving in the morning to see some of my dearest friends back home. I hope you all have a splendid weekend!